LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin rose by 4% to $49,477.75 on Monday, its highest since December 2021.

The cryptocurrency has risen some 15.7% so far this year, helped by regulators approving U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs and expectations for interest rate cuts.

At 1535 GMT, bitcoin was up 3.9% on the day at $49,390.

(Reporting by Alun John and Elizabeth Howcroft; Editing by Amanda Cooper)